Lady Stuff

On a Winfrey Family Vacation a couple of years ago (which took place on/near a mountain and involved staying in a cabin, as do all Winfrey Family Vacations), Alex brought along a book called Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me. The book consisted of (mostly) humorous essays by comedians, writers, and comedy writers about, you guessed it, the things they learned from the women who dumped them. I brought along East of Eden, because I entertained foolish hopes of using the car time to work my way through a classic. I ended up not even opening East of Eden and instead reading Alex's book when he finished it. A lot of my favorite comedians were represented (notably, David Wain, whose contribution was among my favorites) and I enjoyed the book.
After I'd finished it, Alex asked if it was weird to read a whole book chronicling mens' relationships experiences (and it was all men...no lesbians allowed here!). Well, no. Actually, it wasn't weird, because welcome to the whole wide world of comedy, film, and literature. While I consciously and unconsciously seek out the work of female comedians, writers, and directors, there's no denying that even underground/independent art forms are predominantly male. Of course, this isn't really anyone's fault, and it isn't even inherently bad. Like I said, I really enjoyed Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me. But did I feel like the book was intended for me? Did I feel like I was in on the joke? No way. But that's okay.
When I read Julie Klausner's fantastic book I Don't Care About Your Band, I thought "Finally! It's Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me, but for women!" It was everything the other book had been: witty, smart, in turns hilarious and heartbreaking. But this time, I didn't feel like I was sitting in the corner watching everyone else have fun. Julie Klausner was a woman making astute pop-culture references and identifying with a Muppet. She was funny, and she didn't have to pretend to be a man in order to get a laugh.
All of this is one big rambling way of saying that Julie Klausner is on one of our favorite podcasts, The Sound of Young America. TSOYA has had interviews in the past with some of my favorite smart, funny ladies (Miranda July, Charlyne Yi, Sloane Crosley, Maria Bamford) as well as lots of smart, funny men. The best part of this interview is that Julie Klausner comes across as a very nice person, because as you know, Alex and I have a hard time liking a comedian if they seem mean-spirited. Julie Klausner also compares her book to Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me, saying, "I didn't dump you. You were terrible, and then you disappeared."
Truly a woman after my own heart.